Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1887-05-17
FROM TAc0KA.


basket ] would sell all I have fer
oalf whst it Is worth IN order 10 be able
% gel oqs Of the OountEyt am % dis
gusssd"
~You must have had gate Al experi-
enc" uas remarked
Il have had 90, iadsed, !" be continued
IL 10 seld IN that / speak about IL 20
friends, and never 10 strangers. for Il
u0uld sssFeeiy be credited; how came
here and hsipsd 20 PR pare the xay only
% live 10 ses the etheEs Who followed
enjoy what should be mine. started
frsm my home in Iowa in 1864
Immediately upon reading Of the charter
zraBted to She Northern Pasifs Raft
toad Company, deta rained to locate 81
% western terminus On Puget Sound
After I've mocths Of the SLOW travelling
Of thai time arrived At Olympia, from
ghsre subsequently prospected the
Sound by means Of 3 canoe and uiti
1atelS locsted on Csnmencemsnt BAY,
and IN 1865 erected the first house a.
stated, which IL still standing ia the
Old Town. / hadu't money enough 10
enable me TO dle q claim, but borrowed
IL. My presumption vas an odd piece
covering l6s acres. / lived there for
two years eRtir-lv alone. After two
years General McOsrxer came along
and represented that be vas one Of 8
Sealthy flrm Who wanted q site for q
big mill. | told him thought he wss
looking for q town site. He made an
offer for my pFe-enp tion claim of $500
IN eash, together with some land near
Portland. which he said was worth $l0,-
coo, declaring be had sold adjacent
property for $4,000. vas honest
then and believed that everybody
else was the same. and l believed
him. kept she Oregon property for
two years and sold il for 800 That
vas the beginning. had recovered
acres Of the preemptien and With the
money received took . hom sstead of
property adj 1iAinR What I had sold. Ny
Qaess was correct, for M3Carver with
his partners, L. NJ. Starr, Q banker OF
Portland, and James Steel, bis cashier.
laid cut a tovnsite. They had promised
to spend 500 coo In improvements sush
az would induce the railroad company
- come there but they spent compare
lively nothing. Then commissioners
were appointed by the Northern Pacific
Railroad Company to consider the mat
ter of terminus and the location Of q
staten, etc.. and to see wsst induce
ments could be offered from COmmencs-
ment Bay. /, With my son, went to
Portland to meet With this c1mmissisu.
Rhish was composed OF Captain j. @.
AinswoFth, Ira Rice and Gsne.al
SpE8gue. on June 8.h. 1878 They want
ed TO kaOw as first what 1 would give ii
the station vas located within five nilss
If Com neRcsment Bay. told them
wouldn't give a cent unless it vas locs-
Il d at the proper place. They inquired
where that was and | said on the sand
spit near the Eill which lad been erect
ed. II iocated there said would give
forty acres. After some talk Ira Rice
said, we will pledge yea our homer If
re locate on Commencement Bay is
shall be as the point YOU say Captain
Ainsworth repeated the same thing. j
thea gave bond for the forty acres
making four conditions; First, that
within a specified time thsy woald 10.
cate road to Tacoma. Second, that
within q specified time they would
have the road RAINING and
woald keep il running. Third, that
within specified time after the road
was IN operation they woald build and
maintain a good aRd sufficient passen
ger and freight depot at the terminus
Fourth, that they would notify me IN
writing of the acceptance Of these CON
diti3ns. They never notified me ans
they did not b1ild the station until
seven years after the expiration of tn e
time, and then did not build within 8
mile and half OF where they promised.
Bat thew held the forty acres iast the
same. had no money to go 20 law ane
they bad. Lackily | had reserved the
timber on the land without a time be
ing specified in which to take iE of. |
moved on to the land and began to
make improvements. TheFeupOn, Mr..
ARdeEson sent some men down there TO
slash the timber. | then began suit 70
sFevent tnat, for | bad that down IN
black and white. They knew / hAs
them there, and last year ! was given
$3.50 as q compromise. The land IVES
worth from $4,000 to 100000 at that
very time. IL II not enough to disgust
anybody? Ia that way / was swim
died out OF property that, a. | say,
should have left one nov worth
haif a million. McCarver came into my
house some time after the development
Of bis plans, and | told him; General
MeCArver, YOU know you lied when you
Eere dealing With me IN regard 20 that
lAnd.' He simply looked % 10 any faoe
with q snaile aud said. On, that vas
simply little sharp practice. / never
ass so tempted 10 strike a man IN my
life. The idea of his coming into my
house after swindlIBg ne as be bad
and telling me eoolly tina, IL was merely
sharp practice. But | was treated very
nearly as bad by @. b. Wright" eontin-
ued Mr.. Carr, With SONS warmth at the
met him and General Spragae at the
Tacoma National Bank TO talk over this
foFty-scre matter, sud try and get
reasonable figure fer it. Thought $40,
600 &c that time was about right II
bot / would have taken that. At
Ter talking il over for seine
time, Mr.. Wright having shown DO
disposition to be fair said: Don't
sou know, Ne. Carr that, corporations
| have no soai2 ! ross ap az once and
zsid | have heard that freqaently, Mr..
Wright. and row believe Il, aud, too,
that the individuals composing the cor
porations have no soul either left
him then ard hsve no. spoken 10 him
| since, and | think never shall
How came The Land Company in
| possess on Of your property vas asked.
| "Oh they alleged 10 have bought u OF
shs railroad company. You see the
/ I4aad Conpany Is composed OF \ ma
| i1rity OF the directors OF the railroad
| company aEd OF eoarse the direstoFs 10
thaf oonvenie8t arrangement csn sell 20
the LXnd Company Al any figure u
chooses. II IL grand fTaod all the
/ way ruRn1. They went 10 b svindle
| aud tb@y did it with re eheofasliy."
Mr.. Carr leaves in few days 90 paw
his first vizit 10 the Essi since De left u
| 10 le64 He vs. thst II be can ssu oct
/ here be wIl not returE.
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